On the morning of Monday 13 November, the International Study Group (ISG) will be taking a look at the Global Drug Problem.

At the global level, the trade in illicit drugs has evolved over the past 10 years; especially since the Covid pandemic. It has become more difficult to control by physical (repressive) means; more integrated with other social dislocations (corruption, money laundering, insurgency); supply has diversified away from traditional production centres, mostly underdeveloped botanical centres, to local manufacturing in richer consuming countries; demand has shifted from typically a heavy addiction habit by a few, to daily leisure consumption as a generalised cultural practice.

Estimates of the number of people who used a drug in the past 12 months continues to slowly grow, reaching almost 300 million today. The increase is mostly attributable to global population growth (56% of all growth), as the estimated prevalence of drug use has increased minimally. Almost 1 in 13 people aged 13-64 worldwide used drugs in the past 12 months, and more than 1 in 100 has a serious drug disorder.

With an estimated 219 million users, cannabis remains by far the most used drug worldwide. An estimated 60 million people consumed non-medical opioids, the second most used drug type worldwide. The opioid trend remains a major concern due to potentially severe health consequences. Information about the use of ecstasy, amphetamines and cocaine confirm moderate long-term increases, despite the high level of uncertainty given large data gaps.

ISG’s speaker on the 13th, Antonio Maria Costa, will examine these shifts in the drug market and outline their important implications for society. Antonio Maria Costa was Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV) from 2002 to 2010. Now retired, he is currently editor-in-chief of the Journal of Policy Modelling published by the Society for Policy Modelling.

Who, what  where

This talk takes place on Monday 13 November 2023 starting with a welcome coffee at 10h00 and the talk starting at 10h30 am. The venue is Château Malou, Allée Pierre Levie 2, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. The talk is free to ISG members but guests are welcome paying a fee of €10 on the door.

For more information visit the ISG website.